1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to international call traffic routing, and more particularly, to a system and method for optimizing the routing of international call traffic based on parameters such as financial data, quality of service requirements, and individual business exceptions.
2. Background of the Invention
As a result of deregulation, telecommunication carriers can now interconnect with other carriers when it is not possible to complete an end-to-end call entirely on a single carrier's network in the most efficient way. Referring to FIG. 1, a call may originate within carrier A's network and terminate on carrier B's network. Alternatively, in a more complicated scenario, a call originates on carrier A's network, transits through carrier B's network, and then terminates on carrier C's network. In that case, carrier A must interconnect with carrier B and carrier B must interconnect with carrier C. These new routing options force carriers to establish and manage multiple interconnect agreements in order to optimize the use of their networks, reduce costs, and increase margins.
Operating in an intensely competitive and dynamic environment that is characterized by declining prices and shrinking margins, interconnect carriers must continually optimize network operations in response to market pressures. To succeed in this marketplace, interconnect facilities require real-time access to critical business and traffic information, which can be used to evaluate network optimization and deficiencies, and efficiently reach and implement critical business decisions. Examples of these critical business decisions include trading and negotiating with customers and vendors, monitoring traffic, costs, and revenues, evaluating trading (buy and sell) opportunities, determining optimized routing, and tuning network routing and bandwidth.
As demonstrated in FIG. 1, with the deregulation of various telephony markets and the emergence of several new industry players, more and more carriers must go beyond their network and rely on their interconnect partners to deliver a substantial part of their offerings. As the telecommunication markets and services mature, these inter-carrier relationships evolve through a life cycle that can be categorized into four stages: peering arrangements; bilateral agreements; negotiated commerce; and real-time exchanges.
In a peering arrangement, a few known players agree to exchange traffic among themselves based on the peering principle that all parties are equal and that no inter-party compensation is necessary. Because inter-network traffic measurements are not required for accounting purposes, the traffic is only measured for network capacity planning and network performance monitoring.
A bilateral agreement is usually between two carriers and typically specifies how they will exchange termination services. The party that sends more traffic compensates the other party based on the amount of traffic surplus. In this case, inter-network traffic measurements are required for settlement purposes. However, because the parties typically settle the account balances on a periodic basis, traffic information is also only aggregated periodically (e.g., monthly), and not in real-time.
In a negotiated commerce environment, each carrier charges for its termination services based on a set of specific tariffs that have been negotiated with other carriers. In this case, the inter-carrier relationship has more of a customer/vendor flavor. Accurate traffic measurement and storage of detail records of each transaction is a prerequisite for conducting business in this manner. The billing and costing may be done at the aggregate usage level, but detail records may be required to support the charges.
When the supporting networks and business infrastructures permit, carriers may consider a real-time exchange of some of their inter-network services. A few pioneering companies are pushing the envelope by setting up public exchanges for minutes and bandwidth.
One indicator of the evolution of the inter-carrier relationship is the magnitude of the interconnect costs and revenues as a percentage of the total figures. Some of the oldest and the most advanced inter-carrier relationships can be found in the international voice market today, where the interconnect costs can be significant. Traditionally, the bulk of international voice traffic has been exchanged between various national carriers' networks (Postal, Telephone, and Telegraph companies, or “PTTs”) based on accounting rates and bilateral agreements. Recent trends in international telephony point to the continued emergence of a more market orientated inter-carrier relationship that can be characterized as negotiated commerce.
As the interconnect costs begin to rival their network and operating expenses, more and more carriers and service providers are becoming aware of the need to better manage their inter-carrier relationships. A key component of this strategy is the optimization of the inter-network traffic, which can immediately lower costs and improve quality of service. Unfortunately, the prior art lacks the tools to track carrier relationships and to optimize inter-network traffic.